Assembly for supporting refrigerant containers in refrigerator cars



Feb. 8, 1949. A. THOMPSON ASSEMBLY FOR SUPPORTING REFRIGERANT CONTAINERSIN REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed April l2, 1947 Patented Feb. 8, 1949 ASSEMBLYFon sUPion'rING REFRIGER- ANT CONTAINERS CARS IN REFRIGERA'IOR Y AlfredL. Thompson, Munster, `Inti., assignor to Standard Railway EquipmentVManufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill, a corporationloPDela- Wall'eApplication April 12, 1947, Serial No. 741,101

4 Claims. l

l'Ihis invention relates to railway refrigerator cars of the generaltype shown in Patent 2,136,999 granted to Charles D. Bonsall on November15, 1938, and known as top bunker refrigerator car.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a refrigerantcontainer which extends uninterruptedly between the opposite ends of thecar and eliminate the spaces between the several bunkers shown inBonsalls Figure 2, thus materially increasing the ice capacity of therefrigerant container without occupying any more space in the car, i.e., without encroaching upon the lading space of the car.

Another object of the invention is to join the container, supportingbeams and drip catcher into a unit assembly and to hinge such assemblyto a wall of the car and to provide means to engage and disengage suchassembly to or from the roof of the car adjacent the longitudinal centerthereof.

Another object is to provide inside carlines extending crosswise of thecar below and adjacent the roof of the car to partially support suchassembly independently of the roof carlines or roof structure of thecar.

In the drawing the gure shows a transverse section of part of a railwayrefrigerator car having my invention applied thereto.

The drawing shows the usual parts of a railway refrigerator car, such asside wall 2; side wall iiue 3; roof structure 4 including roof carline5; hatch opening G and hatch frame 1.

The refrigerant container III is positioned below the hatch opening 6lling the container. A plurality of beams II are positioned below thecontainer I0 and secured thereto by bolts Il for supporting thecontainer. The drip catcher I2 is supported by the beams I I and isspaced from the container (and secured thereto by the bolts 9) to form aduct I3 therebetween, which duct I3 communicates with the ue 3 at oneend thereof and with the interior of the car I4 (at I5) at the other endthereof.

The container assembly I0, I'I, I2, and I3 (perferably through themedium of the beams II) is hinged at I6 to the side wall 2 of the car sothat the assembly may be swung downwardly, against the side wall of thecar for inspection, cleaning and repair if necessary.

In the preferred form I support the inner side of the assemblyindependently of the roof of the c ar, therefore, I provide insidecarlines I8 which. extend between and are secured to and supported bythe opposite side walls of the car. These into the inside carlines I8and the bolts 20 pass through the inner ends of the beams II and Thus Ihave provided removthe brackets I9. able means for engagement anddisengagement of the assembly to or from the roof.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that Various modications thereof, Within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim: n v

l. A refrigerant container assembly for a railway refrigerator carhaving a wall, a vertical flue forming a part of said wall, a roof and ahatch opening in said roof, said assembly comprising a refrigerantcontainer below said hatch opening, beams extending across the bottomand one side of said container and secured thereto, said beams beingremovably secured to said roof, a drip catcher supported by said beamsand spaced from said container to form ,ducts between said beams whichcommunicate with said flue at one end thereof and with the interior ofthe car at the other end thereof, and a hinge swingably supporting oneside of said assembly to said wall, so that upon removal of removablemeans said assembly may be swung downwardly from said roof.

2. A refrigerant container assembly for a railway refrig-erator carhaving spaced side walls, a vertical ue forming a part of one of saidwalls, a roof, a hatch opening in said roof and an inside carlineextending between said walls, said assembly comprising a refrigerantcontainer below said hatch opening, beams positioned below and securedto said container which extend crosswise of the car, a drip catchersupported by said beams and spaced from said container to form ductsbetween said beams which communicate with said flue at one end thereofand with the interior of the car at the other end thereof, a hingeswingably supporting one side of said assembly to one of said walls, andremovable means forengagement and disengagement of said assembly fromsaid inside carline.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said container and dripcatcher extend uninterruptedly between the opposite ends of the car.

4. A refrigerant container assembly for arailway refrigerator car havinga roof and a wall, said assembly comprising an elongated refrigerantcontainer, a beam extending across the bottom and one side of saidcontainer and secured REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the le of this patent:

along one of its edges to said container, a, drip catcher extendingacross the bottom and one side of said container in spaced relationthereto and UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date West July 9, 1940Gilpin Feb. 11, 1941 Sweeley Dec. 22, 1942

